Wellington, March 15 (Representaive) Dominant Australia cruised past West Indies with a seven-wicket victory in their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup match at the Basin Reserve here on Tuesday. Ellyse Perry’s 3/22 before an unbeaten knock of 83 by the ever-reliable Rachael Haynes ensured Australia remain at the top of the standings with eight points from four successful matches. While Perry’s opening spell set the tone for Australia, she received good support from spinners Ashleigh Gardner (3/25) and Jess Jonassen (2/18) as Australia skittled West Indies for just 131 inside 46 overs. In reply, Haynes with some handy contribution from Beth Mooney (28 not out) guided the tournament favourites past the total with just under 20 overs remaining.
West Indies showed glimpses of the form that helped them to upset hosts New Zealand and England at the start of the tournament, with captain Stafanie Taylor (50) leading the way with the bat and Hayley Matthews (1/31 and three standout catches) excelling in the field. Perry had the ball swinging both ways, with Matthews (0) and Kycia Knight (0) falling consecutively to excellent deliveries as West Indies were reduced to 4/2 in the second over. Taylor, who won the toss and elected to bat after rain delayed the start of the match, safely negotiated the hat-trick delivery and set about building a partnership with the in-form Deandra Dottin. But Perry once again stepped up to dismiss Dottin for 16, with Australia skipper Meg Lanning holding on to a sharp catch at slip to make it 34/3 after 10 overs. Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle tried to recover, but Gardner got in on the act with two quick wickets to leave West Indies in big trouble at 78/5 at the mid-way point of their innings.
With Taylor at the crease there was still hope West Indies could post a competitive total, but Gardner intervened to trap the skipper lbw and Jonassen chipped in with two late wickets as Australia took complete control. Alyssa Healy (3) and Lanning (0) fell early in reply to give West Indies a glimmer of hope, but Perry joined Haynes at the crease and the duo batted within themselves to post a 50-run partnership. Perry wasn’t able to bat all the way through to the required total as she fell to Matthews’ third catch off Chinelle Henry (1/20), but Mooney was on hand alongside Haynes to ensure Australia cruised home. Brief scores: West Indies 131/10 in 45.5 overs (Stafanie Taylor 50; Ellyse Perry 3/22, Ashleigh Gardner 3/25) lost to Australia 132/3 in 30.2 overs (Rachael Haynes 83 not out, Beth Mooney 28 not out; Chinelle Henry 1/20) by 7 wickets.